WILDFIRE NEWS OF THE DAY - 051212
We lead off today with a survey sent along by the California Fire Science Consortium to help them better meet people's fire science needs (1). Although 313 wildfires burned 2,615 acres in California all of last year, 818 wildfires have already been reported this year, and it's not even summer yet (2); prompting CAL FIRE to urge residents of Riverside County to prepare (3); while Wildfire NOTD subscriber Jon Keeley, a Research Ecologist with US Geological Survey, commented on his new book, "Fire in Mediterranean Ecosystems" as San Diego Gas & Electric unveiled a network of weather stations across the County (4); and Barona Fire Protection District is practicing with fire agencies to prepare for wildfire season (5); but a man has been sentenced to six years in prison for starting the 14,000-acre Eagle Fire last summer at San Diego County's Los Coyotes Indian Reservation (6); while Kern County Fire Department firefighters trained for wildfires of the future on Pine Mountain (7). The Nevada Division of Insurance indicated that 1,100 wildfire claims totaling $35 million have been filed with insurance companies in regards to two wildfires which burned in the vicinity of Reno (8); and a wildfire has charred 400 acres in Arizona's Tonto National Forest (9). A replanting ceremony in Larimer County, Colorado, brought together a community to heal the damage done by 2011's Crystal Fire (10); while Montana's Department of Natural Resources and Conservation has decided to use Twitter to update residents on wildfire activity statewide (11). A house fire sparked a wildfire in Jackson County, Wisconsin (12); and a large quantity of deadwood in Freetown State Forest has prompted Massachusetts fire officials to plan controlled burns for the first time in that forest's history (13). A 4-acre wildfire was reported in Horry County, South Carolina's, Carolina Forest Saturday (14); and Alaska Division of Forestry reported a number of fires in the Fairbanks area where high wind was a concern (15). The next item provides photos from a 40-hectare Canadian wildfire reported by British Columbia's Prince George Fire Centre (16); where a 3.6-hectare wildfire reported south of Merritt is now in the mop-up stages (17). Fire officials in Alberta, Canada, warned property owners in the Slave Lake region of the extreme fire danger on the one-year anniversary of a fire which destroyed one third of the town (18); even as smoke from a wildfire hindered traffic near Fox Creek (19); nevertheless, there have been fewer wildfires in that province than normal so far this year (20). South India Plywood Manufacturer’s Association speakers at the "Innovative Technology for Wood and Panel Products" conference discussed the wastefulness of forest fires in that Asian nation (21); something underscored by a wildfire that was reported in Mapusa, Goa, which may have been set by land speculators trying to clear trees so that an area could be developed (22). And finally, although many people use tents for camping, firefighters in Minnesota have one of their own for rehab!
Labels: air-tankers, bushfires, firefighting, forest fires, wildfire news, wildfire news of the day, wildfires
posted by Michael Archer @ 3:39 PM
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